Math genius who refused $1 million says he can control universe

Saint Petersburg
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Imagine being able to control the universe? That is what Russian mathematician, Dr. Grigori Perelman, said he's capable of doing after breaking his silence in a recent media interview.

Last year, the Clay Mathematical Institute (CMI) was set to award Perelman a $1 million prize for solving the 100-year-old Poincare conjecture, one of the most complicated mathematical problems in the world. It is so complex it took experts several years to confirm that Perelman was indeed correct.

In an interview this week, Perelman said he learned how to do complex math by thinking in abstract terms. He said he started training by trying to solve how Jesus walked on water.

But he refused the money, and shut the door to the media. The more he shunned the media, the more the frenzy grew, and the media called him a recluse. He lived with his mother, unemployed, and wore tattered clothing.

An unnamed journalist who interviewed the mathematician, now says there's more to the story.

“Perelman produces an impression of an absolutely sane, healthy, adequate and normal person. ... What the media say and write about him - that he is off his head - all of that is nonsense."

According to Pravda.ru, Perelman agreed to talk to a journalist and producer who will be making a film on three advanced mathematical schools in three countries - Russia, China, and America.

The Moscow Times reported Perelman does not usually talk to journalists because they are more interested in his personal life than the science behind his discovery. He is also offended by the disrespect shown to him, particularly when the media called him "Grisha."

Perelman initially submitted his outline in 2002, but it was not until 2006 that proof was recognized, according to Wikipedia. On March 18, 2010, CMI in Cambridge Massachusetts, confirmed he met the criteria for the Millennium Award for formulating the answer to the first of the seven problems that have not yet been solved. However, he did not show up to receive his award, in Paris. He often skipped past award ceremonies.

“I'm not interested in money or fame," he has said. In fact, he may have withdrawn from mathematics all together -- from the public eye anyways.